President-elect of Christian Coalition of America declines the job
Church head resigns on principle(s)
(AP/IHT)

ORLANDO, Florida: The president-elect of the Christian Coalition of America has declined the job, saying the organization would not let him expand its agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, who was scheduled to take over the socially conservative group in January from Roberta Combs, said he had hoped to focus on issues such as poverty and the environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," said Hunter, a senior pastor at Northland Church in Longwood, Florida.

Hunter announced his decision not to take the job during an organization board meeting Nov. 21. A statement issued by the group said Hunter left because of "differences in philosophy and vision." Hunter said he was not asked to leave

"They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues, that's not our base,'" Hunter said...